Just recently the Letlhakane sub Land Board, under the Ngwato main Board in the Central District Council, announced that it will repossess several undeveloped plots.
There have been reports that residents of Mmopane in the Kweneng District have been ordered to move to make way for developments as perceived by government.
These sorts of caveats have become commonplace around Botswana. Time and time again the Ministry of Lands and Housing, as well as a number of Land Boards, advertise undeveloped plots due for repossession.
Be it commercial, Industrial, ploughing fields or residential, government is always ready to repossess.
Plot owners are normally given two years to develop for commercial and industrial plots, while residential owners are given three years.
We support the government policy that people given land should develop it within a time frame as set out by the authorities.
An open-ended arrangement would be self-defeating.
But it is also our opinion that two years, especially for residential purposes, is just too restrictive.
If not reviewed, it could end up disadvantaging MANY Batswana, especially given the prevailing economic climate.
It does not make sense to us that more often people wait for land for many, many years after applying with the land boards.
Such people wait patiently, yet the authorities do not seem to show similar patience.
Such a punitive measure is very disturbing considering that, in Botswana, there are instances where for one to be allocated land they normally have to be on the waiting list for close to 20 years.
We do not encourage citizens selling land to expatriates, but perhaps the speed at which government moves to repossess undeveloped plots explains why a lot of Batswana would prefer to sell their plots to foreigners or the elites with little care for the implications. To them, it is just one of the ways not only to raise some much needed money but also escape or circumvent repossessions, as it were.
Many of Botswana’s poor don’t have land. We feel that the grace period that many of the citizens are given to develop land is too short. Land is a very precious commodity, both for residential as well as commercial purposes.
Many of our young people have missed business opportunities because they did not have land.
Might we advise that Land distribution is also one of the most burning issues around the world.
Government has to accept that failure to develop land has become a social problem. It requires a long term solution, especially from a government that claims to be responsive to the needs of its citizens.
With the current scenario, what government is preaching is that, only those with capital can own land.
Government needs to undertake a comprehensive study to access why many apply for land and yet fail to develop the land after they have been allocated plots. This study could help government to review its merciless land grabbing policy.
Most of Batswana do not appreciate the value of land as a commodity. It is up to government to initiate an educational campaign to teach people about land, its use, its long term benefits and why it is extremely important for them to develop their allocated plots within the stipulated time. More importantly, our people are still to internalize the simple fact that land is a finite resource.
It is common knowledge that inequitable land relations has contributed to conflicts in countries such as Zimbabwe, Namibia, Kenya and South Africa.
By far, land politics remains the central issue in these African countries.
In our view, our government and the citizenry should wake up to tackle the land issue before it gets explosive.
We believe that when it comes to land there is a lot for all of us to learn from history.
By far, land is the most valuable asset which, under normal circumstances, should remain priceless because it belongs to future generations. That is why we support government’s position when it discourages those allocated State land and tribal land from selling.
This notwithstanding, it is also a greater risk to alienate a section of society and deny them a right to land simply on the basis that they failed to develop their allocated piece of land within two or three years.
When all is said and done, these seizures by the state will impoverish the very people who Government programmes are intended to uplift from poverty.
